(Untitled)

[the_lure]

With the island completely transformed yet again, at this point there's not much Stacie wants more than to get back to the hut, as different as it looks. Still, she's said she'll wait in the kitchen so they can head back together, and that's where she is, more relaxed than usual now that the room is just about empty. The pot of coffee she put on

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[feedthegreed]

I look up all quicklike and frown. "No, Stace, I am not alright."

[the_lure]

Stacie's frown only deepens at that, and she sighs, high heels clicking against the floor as she stands up. "Well, what's wrong, then?" she asks expectantly. "Come here and sit down, or something. We could head back now, if you'd rather."

[feedthegreed]

"Frankly, m'not sure I want to go back to the hut," I say fixin' Stace a sarcastic sort o' smile as I shake me head no at the offer to sit down. Bit too jumpy for that, just yet.

[the_lure]

"You're serious," she says softly, more to herself than anything else. There's only one reason she can think of for him to say that, and the idea is unnerving, even -- especially -- after what happened on Valentine's Day; she has to ask, though, and so she stays still, eyes on the floor between them. "Is this...is this about us?"

[feedthegreed]

"No," I say, "no, this is about Ash bein' a soddin' git."

[the_lure]

Stacie's relieved, she can't help but be, but it only shows on her face for a second. "Ash?" she echoes, almost incredulous. "What's he done? What happened?"

[feedthegreed]

"He wants to know what our backup is in case I should decide we're not shaggin' anymore," I say, tryin' my best to keep my voice level.

[the_lure]

Her mouth drops slightly open, the look a combination of puzzled and displeased, and before she can say anything, she looks past Danny to make sure there's no one else nearby. "Our backup?" she repeats, already more frustrated. "That's- that's what he said? 'Our backup'?"

[feedthegreed]

"No, he told me 'to think of everythin''," I say, "just like Mickey."

[the_lure]

Stacie tenses, inhaling sharply as her shoulders pull back. "He-" she tries to say, after a moment, but cuts herself off, lips pressed together tightly. "That's..." It takes another few seconds, still, then finally, she shakes her head. "That's not bloody fair."

She doesn't think she needs to go into exactly why; they both know all too well. "I'm sorry," she adds instead, the word almost strained, evident of her trying not to get too angry. "He shouldn't have said that."

[feedthegreed]

"No, really?!" I ask, grabbin' hold of one the chairs so that I don't start throwin' things. "It's none of his soddin' business is what it is!"

[the_lure]

"It isn't," she agrees tersely, but takes a few steps towards him so she can lay her hands over his. "It's- it's ridiculously unfair, to the both of us, and he had no right to say something like that." She lets out a hollow laugh, her fingers closing around his more tightly. "God, Danny, I-"

At a loss for anything else, she admits, "I don't even know what to say." She looks back up at him, though, for the first time in a while, and swallows. "But are you- are we all right?"

[feedthegreed]

I sigh and look away from her. I don't think ahead and Ash- everyone bloody well knows as much. But what I do real well is obsess. Focusin' everythin' I have 'til I get what I want, whatever that happens to be. S'how I got meself into this crew to begin with. Never mind what happens afterwards 'cause by the time I've got it, I usually have somethin' else to worry 'bout. So to even ask if I've thought everythin' out like Mickey would have. Bloody h-, I can't even think right now!

I glance up at her now and let go of the chair 'fore I run both me hands through me hair and start pacin'. "Yeah," I say, wincin' a bit at how terse it comes out. "Yeah, Stace, we're fine. S'Ash that's bloody mental."

[the_lure]

For Stacie's part, even with as much as she missed him in that first month or so on the island, she hasn't even wanted to think about Mickey. This -- what she and Danny have, whatever it is -- is good, even moreso than she'd expected, and were Mickey here, she knows for sure things wouldn't be the same. It seems too deliberate, Ash's mentioning Mickey now, like it's less about the backup plan he thinks is necessary and more about the fact that she and Danny are together.

At the edge in Danny's voice, Stacie's expression softens, as angry as she is (and trying not to be). "All right," she sighs, still leaning against the chair. She's always been one to think things through, but this is completely puzzling, nothing like what she imagined would happen if and when she and Danny became a couple, for lack of a better way to describe it. It's the last thing she would have wanted, for it to start dividing the team, and as clever as she may be, she's got no solution now. "Just...just try to stay calm, okay? We'll figure out something to do."

[feedthegreed]

"What, we'll come up with some plan and la-de-da, suddenly everythin' will be alright again?" I say, makin' a quick turn as I start walkin' the other direction now.

[the_lure]

"No," she says pointedly, rocking to her toes in an attempt not to reach out and stop Danny's pacing. "No, what I mean is, this all has to work out somehow. I just..." Her hands go out to her sides in an almost futile gesture. "I don't know how yet."